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Power Supplies: High Voltage Generators
High Voltage Generators#'s - D       E - H       I - S       T - Z
Power Supplies -- Main Page
 

Last Updated: November 22, 2021 03:00 PM

Circuits Designed by Dave Johnson, P.E. :

Nitrogen Spark Generator - Nitrogen or air sparks are very powerful light sources that produce flashes that last only a few nanoseconds.  This line powered circuit generates a continuous series of very small sparks across electrodes with a 0.05 inch gap . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David A. Johnson P.E.-June, 2000

Simple Circuit Nitrogen Spark Generator - Nitrogen or air sparks are very powerful light sources that produce flashes that last only a few nanoseconds.  This line powered circuit generates a continuous series of very small sparks across electrodes with a 0.05 inch gap. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-June, 2000

Capacitance Proximity Switch
Draws very low power - Ideal for battery-powered applications
6 Models Available - Call 806-778-8407


Links to electronic circuits, electronic schematics and designs for engineers, hobbyists, students & inventors:

Ignition Coil Driver-  Use an ignition coil outside of a car to produce HV.__

Jacobs Ladder-  People have long been fACSInated by electric arcs--and perhaps put off by them.  They show up as lightning, Tesla coil discharges, and long sparks that sting as you reach for the doorknob on a cold, dry, winter day.  This Jacob's Ladder project turns electric arcs into a dramatic but harmless conversation piece __ Designed by Tony van Roon  VA3AVR

Large Cookie Tin Ion Chamber-  Here is a truly simple experimenter's chamber made from an ordinary cookie tin.  This experimenter's chamber is made from a 4" (10 cm) diameter, 5.5" (14 cm) tall tin with a tight-fitting lid.  A 5-way binding post is mounted in the center of the can and a 4" (10 cm) wire is suspended from the post inside the can.  The wire length is short enough to insure that it doesn't touch the lid.  Another all-metal binding post and pin are installed in the bottom of the can, and a sheet of gray insulating plastic is glued into place to keep hastily constructed experiments from contacting the can.  The electrometer circuitry will be extremely sensitive to stray electric fields, so a shield is mandatory. __ Contact:  Charles Wenzel of Wenzel Associates, Inc.

Lightning - Create an electrical storm in a light bulb-  The Lightning Bulb circuit uses a quadrac (see Fig.1) --a device that combines a TRIAC and a diac trigger in a single package--to control the supplied current.  Figure 1A shows the schematic symbol for the quadrac, while figure 1B shows the pinout for the unit used in our circuit.  Note that quadracs are increasingly difficult to come by;. __ Designed by Vincent Vollono

Line voltage negative half-cycle trigged high voltage pulse generator-  This circuit generates high voltage pulses from 230vac line voltage.  The drive end's swing comparator circuit is invented by the creator of this page.  The work end is derived from stroboscope trig supply circuit.  All line voltage using circuits are inherently dangerous, and this is particulary so.  Do not build it. __

Low Current, High Voltage Power Supply-  A high voltage power supply is a very useful source which can be effectively used in many applications like biasing of gas-discharge tubes and radiation detectors etc.  Such a power supply...__ Electronics Projects for You

LTC Design Note: High-voltage CMOS Amplifier enables high-Impedance sensing with a single IC-  06/30/14  EDN Design Ideas:  Accurately measuring voltages requires minimizing the impact of the instrument connection to the tested circuit.  Typical digital voltmeters (DVMs) use 10MΩ resistor networks to keep loading effects to an inconspicuous level, but even this can introduce significant error, particularly in higher voltage circuits that involve high resistances. Design by John Munson

Measure voltages up to 20,000 V with this home built meter-  Many of the projects on this site deal with high voltages ranging from a few to several kilovolts.  Unfortunately, traditional multimeters can measure voltages up to only about 1, 000 volts leaving many of us to crudely estimate voltages by spark gap distances.  This project utilizes a simple voltage divider network enabling the measurement of several kilovolts on a stand-alone digital voltmeter. __ Designed by Greg Miller

Mini High-Voltage Generator-  Circuit diagram: Circuit Here’s a project that could be useful this summer on the beach, to stop anyone touching your things left on your beach towel while you’ve gone swimming; you might equally well use it at the office or__

Momentary High Voltage Arc-  Can be used to Ignite a barbeque or a Gas in a Potato Gun. __ Designed by G.L. Chemelec

My Electric Fence Monitor-  A Very Efficient and Simple CMOS Design. __ Designed by G.L. Chemelec

My Electric Fence project Fencer-1-  A Very Efficient and Simple CMOS Design.  This is the Second Most Popular Project on my site.  Look and See What one of this circuit Caught? __ Designed by G.L. Chemelec

My First Experimental Ion Chamber-  An ion chamber is an extremely simple device that uses this principle to detect ionizing radiation.  The basic chamber is simply a conducting can, usually metal, with a wire electrode at the center, well insulated from the chamber walls.  The chamber is most commonly filled with ordinary dry air but other gasses like carbon dioxide or pressurized air can give greater sensitivity.  A DC voltage is applied between the outer can and the center electrode to create an electric field that sweeps the ions to the oppositely charged electrodes.  Typically, the outer can has most of the potential with respect to ground so that the circuitry is near ground potential.  The center wire is held near zero volts and the resulting current in the center wire is measured. __ Contact:  Charles Wenzel of Wenzel Associates, Inc.

Negative & Positive Ion Generators-  These Ion Generators can create Either Negative or Positive Ions into the air from the Air.  The Pins produce the Ionization of the air at the Points of the Pins. 
A Fan is useful to help dispurse the Ions into the room.  Voltages greater than about 6, 000 volts Will create some Ozone, which can be harmful to a persons health.  Even thoughThis is a Static Voltage, It can give a BAD Shock if Touched.  SO BE CAREFUL. __ Designed by G.L. Chemelec

Negative Ion Detector-  Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the Ion Detector--a rather simple circuit consisting of three transistors (two PN2907 PNP, and a single PN2222 NPN type) , three resistors, one capacitor, an antenna, a mA meter, and an LED __ Designed by Vincent Vollono

Negative Ion Generator #2-  The design of the Negative-Ion Generator is fairly straightforward (see Fig.1). The circuit is a high voltage generator. It contains a standard 555 timer that's used to generate square-wave pulses. The pulses are applied to the base of the TIP120 NPN Darlington transistor. The Darlington provides sufficient current to the base of the 2N3055 power transistor to turn it on. Each. __ Designed by John Lovine

Negative Ion Generator 2-  The design of the Negative-Ion Generator is fairly straightforward (see Fig.1).  The circuit is a high voltage generator.  It contains a standard 555 timer that's used to generate square-wave pulses.  The pulses are applied to the base of the TIP120 NPN Darlington transistor.  The Darlington provides sufficient current to the base of the 2N3055 power transistor to turn it on.  Each. __ Designed by John Iovine

Negative Ion/Static Electricity Detector-  A sensitive detector for static electricity based around a single Field Effect Transistor It can also be used to detect the presence of negative ions, or test a negative ion generator. __ Designed by Andy Collison

Negative-Ion Detector & Tester-  Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the Ion Detector--a rather simple circuit consisting of three transistors (two PN2907 PNP, and a single PN2222 NPN type) , three resistors, one capacitor, an antenna, a mA meter, and an LED __ Designed by Vincent Vollono

Nitrogen Spark Generator-  Nitrogen or air sparks are very powerful light sources that produce flashes that last only a few nanoseconds.  This line powered circuit generates a continuous series of very small sparks across electrodes with a 0.05 inch gap . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David A. Johnson P.E.-June, 2000

Obtain a lower DC voltage from a higher voltage power supply-  06/08/06 EDN Design Ideas:  Linear stepdown regulator saves watts Design by Luca Bruno

Palm-top Class E SSTC-  A SSTC that fits in the palm of your hand!__

PicAXE Ionization Chamber-  This simple radiation detector uses a PicAXE-08M microprocessor to measure the voltage drift rate on an ionization chamber's sense wire, eliminating the need for a high-value resistor.  An electrometer-grade JFET is used to buffer the voltage on a sense wire inside the chamber, and a PicAXE microprocessor measures the rate of change of that voltage, periodically discharging the wire through the JFET's gate-source junction.  This unorthodox way of discharging the ion chamber wire eliminates the need for a special, low-leakage switch, and takes advantage of the PicAXE's ability to use the same pin as an analog input or a digital output. __ Contact:  Charles Wenzel of Wenzel Associates, Inc.

PLL Solid State Tesla Coil 1-  My first SSTC which works well enough to show to anyone.__

PLL SSTC 1.5-  The PLL SSTC 1 has been given an extreme makeover.__

PowerLabs Flyback Driver-  This is by far the best project for someone who is already familiar with High Voltage, but wants to take their experiments to the next level: It requires very little previous experience and skills with soldering and identifying components, and there are virtually no adjustments to be made.  The danger is minimal, as fly back transformers are intrinsically low power devices, not capable of outputting lethal currents (due to the hair-thin secondary windings) , and yet it will give a careless experimenter a nasty RF burn if he accidentally touches the HV wire (nothing beats learning from your mistakes).  If you have never experimented with HV before though, I recommend you start off with an electrostatic project.  This circuit is not a toy! __ Designed by Sam Barros

Pulse Generator-High-Voltage-  Voltage, by definition, is the electrical pressure that causes current to flow through a conductor.  When that pressure is sufficiently high, a high voltage is produced.  But how do we define high-voltage? Is 100, 1000, or 10, 000 volts considered high voltage? When compared to 10 volts, they all can be considered high voltage __ Designed by Tony van Roon  VA3AVR

Radon Detector for the Student-  This ionization chamber radon detector is designed to be easy for the student or hobbyist to build and use.  It can form the basis for a variety of experiments for Science Fair competitions, class projects, conversation pieces, or simply satisfying scientific curiosity.  Despite the extreme simplicity, the chamber can detect surprisingly low levels of radon by detecting the radioactive "radon daughters" produced when radon gas decays.  The detector could be used to investigate a variety of scientific questions and demonstrate scientific principles: __ Contact:  Charles Wenzel of Wenzel Associates, Inc.

Resonant MoT Stack-  Create 50 cm long arcs with MOTs!__

Series Load Resonant Capacitor Charger-  Charge high voltage capacitors with thousands of joules per second!__

Simple Circuit Nitrogen Spark Generator-  Nitrogen or air sparks are very powerful light sources that produce flashes that last only a few nanoseconds.  This line powered circuit generates a continuous series of very small sparks across electrodes with a 0.05 inch gap. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-June, 2000

Simples sort out the highest voltage-  11/09/06  EDN Design Ideas:  Greatest-of-three voltage detector drives indicators and external display Design by Ezio Rizzo, Nova SNC, Genoa, Italy, and Vincenzo Pronzato, Felmi SRL, Genoa, Italy

Single Amplifier Precision High Voltage Instrument Amp-  DN25 Design Notes__ Linear Technology/Analog Devices

Single Transistor Flyback Driver-  This is by far the best project for someone who is already familiar with High Voltage, but wants to take their experiments to the next level: It requires very little previous experience and skills with soldering and identifying components, and there are virtually no adjustments to be made.  The danger is minimal, as fly back transformers are intrinsically low power devices, not capable of outputting lethal currents (due to the hair-thin secondary windings) , and yet it will give a careless experimenter a nasty RF burn if he accidentally touches the HV wire (nothing beats learning from your mistakes).  If you have never experimented with HV before though, I recommend you start off with an electrostatic project.  This circuit is not a toy! __ Designed by Sam Barros

Small Simple Circuit high voltage supply features single IC-  26-Jun-08 EDN Design Ideas:  An output toroidal transformer with a low-voltage feedback winding enables a small, high-voltage supply that uses a single IC Design by Alfredo H Saab and Tina Alikahi, Maxim Integrated Products, Sunnyvale, CA

Solid State Tesla Coil Chapter 1-  This book is written for people like me, challenged when faced with doing something without a recipe or complete set of instructions.  I will throw in things learned from other Tesla coil builders, but will quickly admit that when it comes to making long sparks, there are many who are far better than I __ Designed by Solid State Tesla Coil Dr. Gary L. Johnson

Solid State Tesla Coil Chapter 2-  This book is written for people like me, challenged when faced with doing something without a recipe or complete set of instructions.  I will throw in things learned from other Tesla coil builders, but will quickly admit that when it comes to making long sparks, there are many who are far better than I __ Designed by Solid State Tesla Coil Dr. Gary L. Johnson

Solid State Tesla Coil Chapter 3-  This book is written for people like me, challenged when faced with doing something without a recipe or complete set of instructions.  I will throw in things learned from other Tesla coil builders, but will quickly admit that when it comes to making long sparks, there are many who are far better than I __ Designed by Solid State Tesla Coil Dr. Gary L. Johnson

Solid State Tesla Coil Chapter 4-  This book is written for people like me, challenged when faced with doing something without a recipe or complete set of instructions.  I will throw in things learned from other Tesla coil builders, but will quickly admit that when it comes to making long sparks, there are many who are far better than I __ Designed by Solid State Tesla Coil Dr. Gary L. Johnson

Solid State Tesla Coil Chapter 5-  This book is written for people like me, challenged when faced with doing something without a recipe or complete set of instructions.  I will throw in things learned from other Tesla coil builders, but will quickly admit that when it comes to making long sparks, there are many who are far better than I __ Designed by Solid State Tesla Coil Dr. Gary L. Johnson

Solid State Tesla Coil Chapter 6-  This book is written for people like me, challenged when faced with doing something without a recipe or complete set of instructions.  I will throw in things learned from other Tesla coil builders, but will quickly admit that when it comes to making long sparks, there are many who are far better than I __ Designed by Solid State Tesla Coil Dr. Gary L. Johnson

Solid State Tesla Coil Chapter 7-  In this chapter, we deal with the design of the Tesla coil driver.  We will discuss several components or subsystems, including the power supply, the controller, the gate driver and inverter, the fast fuse, and the current sense resistors __ Designed by Solid State Tesla Coil Dr. Gary L. Johnson

Solid State Tesla Coil Chapter 8-  This book is written for people like me, challenged when faced with doing something without a recipe or complete set of instructions.  I will throw in things learned from other Tesla coil builders, but will quickly admit that when it comes to making long sparks, there are many who are far better than I __ Designed by Solid State Tesla Coil Dr. Gary L. Johnson

Solid State Tesla Coil Chapter 9-  This book is written for people like me, challenged when faced with doing something without a recipe or complete set of instructions.  I will throw in things learned from other Tesla coil builders, but will quickly admit that when it comes to making long sparks, there are many who are far better than I __ Designed by Solid State Tesla Coil Dr. Gary L. Johnson

Solid State Tesla Coil/High Voltage Generator-  This is a fun and useful circuit for demonstrating high frequency high voltage.  It can produce up to about 30KV, depending on the transformer used.  It is cheap and easy to make, thanks to the standard TV flyback transformer used.  It can power LASERS (although I have never tried) , demonstrate St.  Elmo's fire, and even cause a fluorescent bulb to light from as much as 2 feet away. __ Designed by Aaron Cake

Solid-State Tesla Coil, #1-  Nikola Tesla is considered by some to be the greatest inventor of our modern electrical age, and many experts consider him to be the true father of radio.  However, today he is best remembered for his fACSInating wireless power-transmission experiments, using his famous Tesla Coil.  The high-frequency air-core, oscillating Tesla Coil is just as exciting today as it was back in 1899 __ Designed by Tony van Roon  VA3AVR

Solid-State Tesla Coil, #2-  Nikola Tesla is considered by some to be the greatest inventor of our modern electrical age, and many experts consider him to be the true father of radio.  However, today he is best remembered for his fACSInating wireless power-transmission experiments, using his famous Tesla Coil.  The high-frequency air-core, oscillating Tesla Coil is just as exciting today as it was back in 1899 __ Designed by Tony van Roon  VA3AVR

Square Tesla Coil-  Figure 1 shows the schematic diagram of the Tesla Coil circuit.  The circuit consists of little more than a few coils, a step-up power transformer, and a capacitor.  Power from an AC wall receptacle is fed to transformer T1 (a small neon-sign transformer) which steps the voltage up to about 3000-volts AC __ Designed by Tony van Roon  VA3AVR

Static Electricity Detector-  A sensitive detector for static electricity based around a single Field Effect Transistor It can also be used to detect the presence of negative ions, or test a negative ion generator. __ Designed by Andy Collison

Super Cheap 1500 Volt Power Supply small Laser Supply-  This little power supply uses an ordinary 120VAC to 9VAC step-down transformer to deliver 1500Vrms.  You will need two power resistors, both 50ohm 10W.  These can be bought at Radio Shack.  The transformer is wired backwards.9V windings connect to 120V__

Super-Sensitive Ionization Chamber-  These "ion chambers" are nothing more than a bare wire stuck through a hole into a metal can! No special gas or sealing is required.  For best performance it is probably a good idea to add a desiccant to the inside of the can to keep the humidity low. (I didn't!) Build one; its really simple! __ Contact:  Charles Wenzel of Wenzel Associates, Inc.


High Voltage Generators#'s - D       E - H       I - S       T - Z


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